Has anybody had this combo before? I have an SE and planning on dropping on Eibach's. Will this work? How long will it last if I do? Thanks

 

I ran progress prings and SE struts for 9 months w/ no problems

 

Thanks for the reply. Anybody else?
bump......

 

PM nadir_s... he has eibach on stock SE shocks.

 

There is another guy here in my city that has my car but it is auto with Eibach's and stock SE springs. He also has some 18" wheels on there with P-Zero's on there.

I talked to him yesterday, and he said the ride is really rough. I don't know if that is some from his wheels( I am sure it is) or just the stock struts wearing out or not being able to handle the drop, but he doesn't like it. I have not personally ridden in it to tell.

 

I suggest waiting until you get new and better shocks. You'll save some money in the long run.

Mine lasted for about a month (Eibach and Stock shocks). Ride was rough anyways on uneven pavement as I have 235/45-17 Falken Ziex 512's on 17x8 Momo Sport rims. Feels good on smooth pavement and with some road noise. I believe the rough ride feel has to do with the extra wide tires after switching from the stock Toyo Proxes.

Anyways, I was driving downhill in a mountain pass going about 60mph (100km/hr) and as I changed lanes and took curves the back end of the car got real floaty and loose. Scared the crap out of me. I knew that the shocks were'nt doing their duty and I was just riding on the springs.

I went with Koni Sports on all 4 corners and that feeling has gone.

 

That's exacty what I'm planning on getting, 18's. Either way, stock struts or not, the ride will be pretty harsh on 18's. After buying the wheels and springs, I don't think my budget will allow me to get the Illumina's quite yet. I'll probably get them after my stock one's explode on me!

Will I be making anything worse on the car if I do ride on blown shocks for too long?

 

Yeah, do us a favour and don't drive downhill on the Coqillhalla hwy!
I don't want to read about a car crash in the Vancouver Sun!

 

Yes, you will make something worse, the handling will be a lot worse than stock. Weak struts are downright dangerous. Handling goes right down the drain. And if you say you don't care about handling, just wait until you have to make an emergency maneuver and your care looses control.

My 2 cents.

 

Coqillhalla hwy = Deathwish
Believe me, I've learned my lesson. My friends and I ended up in a five car pileup a couple years ago. I try to avoid that place by all means necessary. It doesn't matter how well a driver you are, it's the other idiot drivers out there you gotta watch out for --> I guess that applies for all places you drive though.

 

drewm backs me up about the handling. Don't go cheap on the car or it will bite your a** down the road.

Its scary as hell when you need to do a quick maneuver. All I did was do a simple lane change and the rear had something else in mind! I had two other passengers and a full trunk. Scared all of us.

Btw welcome to the Org! Also check out Northwest Nissans and NWMaximas!

http://www.nwmaxima.com/viewforum.ph...45af01c8a09f85

http://www.northwestnissans.com/

 

Well, you don't have to get them new.
I missed a used set of AGX's a little while back for like $300, and I just bought a set of used Illumina's for $320 shipped. Supposedly, they have about 800 miles on them.

All I am saying is that the deals are out there. YOu just have to look for them. It takes consistent looking, but if you do, it will pay off. I was like you, and could not afford new adjustable struts, but when I found these, I just had to buy them. I had enough people tell me that I would not regret the little more money. That is what I had to go with.

I would say that you would definitely want to get some struts that are adjustable since you will be putting on 18's. Reason: the struts can make up for that more harsh ride if they are good. You will have a more harsh ride than say me with 16's, but a softer ride than others that don't have the adjust able ones.

 

Hey Ck69, How many Kms on your car? I have 180kms with stock SE struts with Eibachs and 17" wheels the ride is good a little soft in the back. I have had the setup about 5 months now and keeping my fingers crossed. You definitely save money doing the spring and strut combo together but I reallly wanted the drop with my 17"r's and hadn't decided on struts at the time. There are some great deals that pop up from time to time on struts that are so good it justifies waiting for them, I'm actually trying to see if I can jump in late on a GD for Illumina's @ $425 shipped! That's awesome! I posted a thread inquiring between Illumina's and AGX and the feed back was the Illumina's by a landslide! I just made a run to Kelowna (via the Coqi) I was fly'n with no handling problems on the stock struts, but I know my FSTB helps. The stock SE's have more of a "performance" strut than GXE models etc so they may hold up a little longer, hope this helps, I'll keep an eye out for you! I work in Burnaby and live in PoCo.

 

Im running eibachs on tokico HP (blue) struts. . .although I am fairly satisfied with my setup but I would not recommend it to anyone. IMO, the only way to go is with Illuminas, Koni Yellows, (or AGXs if you're on a budget). I regret not buying Illuminas.

I suggest thay you dont drop the car until you have all the right components, stock struts will make the car ride rough, and handle awkwardly on a stiff spring like eibachs. Do yourself a favor and wait till you have the cash to drop it on a good aftermarket strut. Learn from my mistake.

 

I've got the same amount of clicks on the car as you do. I tried to PM the guy who's running the GD on those Illumina's but he hasn't responded... It's a little sketchy though, not everybody from that GD received their Illumina's. I checked on Ebay for Illuminas a while back and it was slightly cheaper than the GD. For some reason it hasn't appeard lately.
I'm sure I've seen your car around at some time, I make it point to keep my eye out for modded Max's. I'll see you around, I live in Coquiltam and also work in Burnaby.

 

Thanks BlackCat! I must admit that I've been a lurker for quite some time. I wish there was a forum like this when I had my '81 Toyota Tercel!

 

ha ha ha
why would there be?
It was a Tercel! ha ha ha

 

i still have my stock struts with eibach springs.
my max drives pretty well, but it bounces when you hit those bumps.
you might wanna go with kyb struts or tokico's.
i heard that they last long, and ride smoother than other brands.
good luck b

 

Don't just get the Tokico HP's though. They are stock replacement only. they are not supposed to handle a drop at all.